The Ultimate Decluttering Guide to Follow Before You Sell Your Home

Published On: March 18, 2022|Categories: Blog, Home Sellers, Home Staging, Selling Tips|Tags: Decluttering Guide, Sell your Home, Six-Month Rule|

If you’re selling a home in Jasper (or elsewhere), your REALTOR® will talk to you about staging – the act of making your space as appealing as possible to prospective buyers. However, you can’t stage anything until you’ve decluttered your entire home. If you find the idea of decluttering your home to sell it a little overwhelming, don’t stress; this guide is here to help.

The Ultimate Decluttering Guide to Follow Before You Sell Your Home

Check out these five simple decluttering tips to help you go through your whole home and make it more appealing to prospective buyers:

Start with big stuff
Set a timer
Follow the 6-month rule
Take items out as you fill boxes or bags
Combine organization with your decluttering job

Scroll down for a closer look at each.

$719,000

938 E Jasper Dubois Road Jasper, Indiana

5 Beds 4 Baths 5,700 SqFt 6.100 Acres

Listing courtesy of Kevin Bayer from RE/MAX Local.

$597,000

3289 St Charles Street Jasper, Indiana

4 Beds 4 Baths 3,906 SqFt 0.595 Acres

Listing courtesy of Annette Wigand from ERA FIRST ADVANTAGE REALTY, INC.

$569,900

1928 S A St. Jasper, Indiana

3 Beds 4 Baths 3,376 SqFt 6.258 Acres

Listing courtesy of Larry Carpenter III from Carpenter Realty LLC.

$534,900

5070 W Alder Creek Drive Jasper, Indiana

4 Beds 3 Baths 4,208 SqFt 1.500 Acres

Listing courtesy of Stephanie Hasenour from RE/MAX Local.

$475,000

4536 W 150 N Jasper, Indiana

4 Beds 4 Baths 2,986 SqFt 1.482 Acres

Listing courtesy of Stacey Thieman-Wright from THIEMAN REALTY.

$448,900

1525 Grandview Drive Jasper, Indiana

3 Beds 3 Baths 4,132 SqFt 0.354 Acres

Listing courtesy of Stacey Thieman-Wright from THIEMAN REALTY.

$349,900

1245 W 6th Street Jasper, Indiana

4 Beds 3 Baths 3,610 SqFt 1.300 Acres

Listing courtesy of Steve Wigand from ERA FIRST ADVANTAGE REALTY, INC.

$339,700

872 S Countryside Drive Jasper, Indiana

3 Beds 2 Baths 3,498 SqFt 2 Acres

Listing courtesy of Linda Schroering from CENTURY 21 SCHROERING REALTY.

$339,000

3255 E State Road 164 Jasper, Indiana

4 Beds 3 Baths 2,944 SqFt 1.024 Acres

Listing courtesy of Zach Holt from Whitetail Properties Real Estate.

$335,000

1911 S A St. Jasper, Indiana

3 Beds 2 Baths 1,468 SqFt 0.314 Acres

Listing courtesy of Larry Carpenter III from Carpenter Realty LLC.

$322,500

1761 Sugar Pine Drive Jasper, Indiana

3 Beds 2 Baths 1,829 SqFt 0.346 Acres

Listing courtesy of Ryan Craig from RE/MAX Local.

$319,900

582 E 36th Street Jasper, Indiana

3 Beds 2 Baths 2,374 SqFt 1.740 Acres

Listing courtesy of KaraHinshaw from Key Associates Signature Realty.

$299,900

813 Dorbett Street Jasper, Indiana

2 Beds 2 Baths 1,997 SqFt 0.148 Acres

Listing courtesy of Fallon Knies from RE/MAX Local.

$295,000

1371 W 5th Street Jasper, Indiana

3 Beds 2 Baths 2,403 SqFt 0.287 Acres

Listing courtesy of Tama Stemle from RE/MAX Local.

$287,500

181 Ashbury Court Jasper, Indiana

3 Beds 3 Baths 2,212 SqFt 0.286 Acres

Listing courtesy of Steve Lukemeyer from F.C. TUCKER EMGE.

Tip #1 to Declutter to Sell Your Home: Start with big stuff

When it’s time to declutter your home, you can make it easier on yourself by starting with big items, such as furnishings. If you have any furniture that clutters up your space, interrupts clear walking paths, or has simply seen better days, it’s time to put that furniture into storage, donate it, sell it, or throw it away.

You may find that by getting rid of large items first, the job suddenly seems quite a bit more manageable. And after you’ve finished your furniture, you can start on the smaller items cluttering up your cabinets, closets, drawers and other storage spaces.

Tip #2 to Declutter to Sell Your Home: Set a timer

If the clutter seems overwhelming, set yourself a timer. You can set it for as long as you’d like. However, the key is to work like crazy during the time the timer is running. For example, if you set a 30 minute timer, enter the room and make it your mission to rehome, throw out or put away as many items as you can. Don’t get distracted; remind yourself that you only have a few minutes left on your timer before you can do something else.

Pro Tip: Turn on some music, a podcast or your favorite TV show. That can help the time go by faster, particularly if you don’t find decluttering very exciting on its own.

Tip #3 to Declutter to Sell Your Home: Follow the six-month rule

When you are decluttering your home to sell it, follow the six-month rule. The six-month rule says that if you haven’t used something in the past six months, you’re very unlikely to need it during the time that your home is on the market. That means it’s safe to get rid of it, donate it, or even put it in your storage unit until you move into your next home. You most likely won’t miss the things that you haven’t used in the past six months.

Tip #4 to Declutter to Sell Your Home: Take items out as you fill boxes or bags

Set up boxes or bags for the items you encounter while you are decluttering your home. At minimum, you need these four:

Donate
Sell
Trash
Put away

As one box or bag fills, take it out to your car. The key is getting it out of your home (except the “Put Away” box, that is). Then, when you are finished for the day, take the box or bag where it really belongs – to the dumpster or to your favorite charity. If you plan to hold a yard sale, keep the items in your garage; likewise, if you plan to sell your items on Facebook or another online platform, take photos and list them right away – and then store them in the garage until they’re picked up.

Tip #5 to Declutter to Sell Your Home: Combine organization with your decluttering job

As you put away items you’ve decided to keep, make sure you put them away in an organized fashion. That may mean investing in some new baskets, bins or tubs so that when you put these items away, they have a home that keeps them neat.

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